Julius Malema : We dont have public hospitals in SA, those things are mortuaries

Massive nursing shortage in Gauteng leaves sick patients even more vulnerable The Gauteng Health Department has revealed that there is a dangerously large nursing shortage at hospitals in the province. Now, questions are being asked as to how the crisis is potentially leading to an increased number of deaths.

Gauteng Health Department and the ‘Critical” nursing shortage

While the country and local health industry experts are up in arms over the pending National Health Insurance
(NHI), Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa has revealed worrying provincial details.

Ramokgopa was speaking at a nurses Seminar Round Table Discussion on Friday when she explained that the
province is operating on a staff establishment based on the provincial population of 2006, when there were 4.8
million fewer people.

DA Shadow Gauteng Health MEC, Jack Bloom, points out that since then, the population of Gauteng as has risen
to 14.2m.

This situation has been worsened by a circular to hospitals directing them to fill only 50% of vacant funded posts
occupied by retired, resigned and deceased nursing personnel.

“I am horrified by Ramokgopa’s admission that these circumstances ‘led to nursing managers allocating unskilled
nursing personnel to attend to patients in critical areas.’ This is extremely irresponsible and raises the risk of
medical negligence.”